Preparing oneself for self-defense is not easy, especially given the very real prospect of being accosted by multiple attackers. Whether you live in the city or the suburbs, in today’s volatile society, being targeted on the street by violent criminals is a genuine concern.
In the United States, approximately 3.6M people participate in some form of martial arts training each year. There are somewhere along the lines of 75,000 martial arts studios in this country, more than in any other country in the world. California alone accounts for over 2,100 martial arts schools. While those numbers sound impressive, only about 1% of the US population are practicing martial artists. Sounds miniscule, doesn’t it? We, as martial artists, always knew we walked a different path than most of our fellow citizens. It’s true—we do. It’s a good thing, too, as that’s what will save us when the chips are down.
Okay, so what? Why do those numbers matter? They matter because, statistically, you are highly unlikely to be attacked by a trained martial artist. Continuing along those lines, you are extremely unlikely to be attacked by multiple trained martial artists. That means that you, as a bona fide martial artist, are better versed in the ways and means of unarmed combat than any given group of attackers you may face in a street altercation.
So as not to minimize the clear and obvious peril associated with any street attack scenario, let’s qualify that last statement regarding hand-to-hand proficiency. Experienced street criminals, particularly gang members with multiple fights in their background, are dangerous. Period. They have been hit and they’ve done plenty of hitting. Their lack of formalized martial training notwithstanding, they know what works on the street from personal experience. They know how much punishment they can physically absorb and still stay in the fight. That said, they don’t want to absorb any physical punishment if they can avoid it. They prefer surprise ambush attacks or pack attacks because that minimizes their individual personal risk.
Remember this; experienced bangers know what fear looks like. They’ve seen its face often. It is an everyday presence in their lives. As predators, they rely on it.
Now back to that 1% of the citizenry that are martial artists. As Kung Fu practitioners, you are part of that 1%. That means that you are better trained than those likely to be your assailant on the street. Let that sink in. They may have the experience and the street savvy, but you have the technical competency. Given that foundation and a few tweaks, you have the means necessary to survive.
Our challenge, as martial artists, is to harden ourselves mentally so that we can weather the fear and adrenaline storm and skillfully apply what we know in the midst of that maelstrom. That storm is an unforgiving monster and will suck every ounce of competence out of you when you need it most if you haven’t conditioned yourself to resist its ravishes. We, as the good guys in the equation, must be as indomitable in spirit as the bad guys are street hardened. We must cultivate a warrior’s resolve.
It is paramount that we keep the number-one skill set in mind when it comes to self-defense—situational awareness. Situational awareness can save you from having to deal with all the other elements we’ll be discussing in this article.
The style of martial arts we practice isn’t important. Bruce Lee said, “The individual is of first importance, not the system.” That is absolutely true. You may be a Hung Gar stylist or a Wing Chun practitioner. The system doesn’t matter. It’s what you, as the individual, can extract from the system, refine to fit your unique capabilities, and bring to the fight. Simplicity will be crucial. A gross motor-based approach will be essential. This is important in any real engagement, but especially so when facing multiple opponents.
At the mixed discipline studio where I train, we practice multiple opponent scenarios. One of the things we do is utilize the closest assailant as a shield against the others. That can mean engaging and nullifying that closest opponent straight away and then steering him into the others as an obstruction or dropping him to the ground between you and the other attackers as a barrier—a speed bump of sorts. You must be aggressive. Half-hearted efforts or any hesitancy to go all out in defending yourself against your attackers will not work in your favor. That hesitancy will be immediately sensed and exploited by seasoned predators.
Shielding behind one of the attackers can also mean keeping that one guy between you and the others so they can’t close in around you. That requires adept footwork and maneuverability. Practice that in the studio and you will quickly recognize the difficulty involved. And it won’t last but a fleeting moment—just long enough for you to escape or transition to another position of advantage. That will be the game you’re stuck with.
If you are going to engage and “nullify” the closest attacker and then utilize that assailant as a shield or obstruction, I recommend landing a telling blow or blows immediately, which requires the all-out aggression I mentioned. We are talking about throat punches, eye jabs, groin strikes, ear slaps and finger breaks amongst other nasties. You must render that closest assailant null and void for at least a moment or two to afford yourself time to reorient and maneuver. For street thugs accustomed to their victims trembling in fear, that “attacking the attacker” strategy will be unsettling. Frankly, it’s all you have.
In order to prevent yourself from being overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers, you must hit and move. If you stand your ground in one spot, you’re likely done. Joint locks and disbalancing techniques can set up hits, but you must damage your attacker. No other option. That means you have to hit and you have to break things. You must compromise their sight, their breath and their structure.
If your art involves throws, by all means, use them if you can execute smoothly and quickly without compromising yourself to the other attackers. For example, I don’t recommend turning your back on multiple attackers to execute a hip throw against one of them. It is horribly ill advised to tie yourself up with one attacker when facing multiple assailants. That said, if you are a competent grappler and can take your closest opponent off his feet and send him crashing to the blacktop, do it. Gravity hits hard. Reaps and throws are great if you can do them efficiently. A good reap can put the closest attacker down on the pavement as a nice barrier between you and the other attackers.
Keep in mind that—even if you are a Shuai Jiao practitioner—you are adding additional risk to an already risk-filled environment if you can’t recover from executing that throw or reap before the other attackers close the gap and are on top of you. Don’t disbalance yourself in exchange for throwing an opponent. Once a group gets multiple hands on you, the fight is essentially over.
If you practice Chin Na joint destructions, use them, but only if you can execute the manipulation in a smooth flow that doesn’t unnecessarily distract you from the other attackers. Joint locking is a great set-up for striking or throwing if you are practiced at employing Chin Na techniques in that manner. Use them if they present themselves, but don’t “reach” for them.
Anything that renders you less mobile is probably a bad idea. Remember, the other guys you are facing are waiting for that fraction of a moment when they can close on you. It is a pack mentality. They’re brave in a group. If you cherry pick the closest and hurt him, it displays vividly to the pack that you will punish those that rush in. That is to your advantage.
If you happen to be a Jeet Kune Do or Wing Chun proponent, you are going to be adept at suppressing, redirecting, and maneuvering around an opponent’s striking limbs. Don’t allow yourself to be too “stuck” to any one opponent in a multi-opponent scenario. The only time being “adhered” to an opponent is useful is if you have successfully negated the threat from the closest attacker and are using his body as a “shield” against the others as was discussed earlier.
Keep your techniques compact and economical. In other words, don’t overextend yourself on a punch or a kick. Practice using short throw punches and strikes that utilize the entire body. The folding and unfolding seen in Taijiquan is a good example of how to use the body to generate far more power than is possible with just the arms. Remember that elbows are awesome weapons. Practice using them. Ditto for headbutts.
If you use kicks, keep them low. Groin kicks are recommended over other targets. If you can hit the knees, that’s great. Knees can be difficult, and the opponent likely won’t remain static and offer you a stationary target. Don’t unbalance yourself to throw a kick. Use a knee if you are close enough. Again, keep things economical with short hard kicks to vulnerable targets. It isn’t a photo op.
Use environmental features to your advantage. If there are trash cans, fire hydrants, parked cars, parking meters and other objects close by, use them as obstructions between you and your opponents. Obstructions take time to get around. Anything that slows your attackers and impedes their access to you is your friend. Maneuver, if you can, towards the closest viable route of escape. Moving towards the most publicly visible area will generally be best. Be aware of tripping hazards such as curbs, uneven pavement, and refuse.
Use any implement at your disposal car or house keys, credit cards, belts, purses, pocket knives—anything. Improvised weaponry is an option you must train yourself to recognize if caught in a multiple attacker situation on the street. It can be a — stick, a trash can lid, the can itself, a broken bottle. Don’t take your eyes off your opponents to search for weapons of opportunity, just be able to identify and take advantage of them if they are readily accessible.
In closing, I am going to briefly discuss something called the OODA Loop.
The acronym stands for OBSERVE-ORIENT-DECISION-ACTION. It depicts how the human brain perceives and reacts to stimuli. Neurologically, your brain and body process and act upon the environment in that linear, sequenced order. So, to put it into martial terms, you first must Observe the threat, then you must Orient (what am I seeing?), then you must make a Decision what to do about the threat, and finally you must Act. This sequence takes time. If there are multiple and time staggered inputs, it causes a “reset” of the sequence and more time is required to finally arrive at “Act.” Continuous “resets” create the fog of battle—confusion. Bad for the defender. The OODA Loop is why action is faster than reaction.
The way to shorten that linear process is to train, train, train. Then you train some more. This is not an alien concept to martial artists. We do it all the time. If you, for example, train in the kwoon to do “B” whenever you see “A,” you will eventually cut out the middle two pieces of the OODA Loop. Here is how that works… Upon OBSERVING, you go straight to ACTION. You skip ORIENT and DECISION. You train, through repetition, to ACT in a certain fashion whenever you are presented with OBSERVE.
In practical terms, as an example, you see a hand reach for the waistband, you immediately jam that hand in place. Instead of waiting to see the knife or gun appear and then orienting yourself to the threat and making a decision to move, you simply move upon the initial stimuli of seeing the hand go to the waistband. That’s how the OODA Loop is important in self-defense and in all combative arenas. It works. The USAF uses it to train fighter pilots.
In the studio, practice training with the OODA Loop in mind. Practice against multiple opponents who are trying to encircle and close up on you. You can use strike pads or whatever to make things more realistic. The important thing is to burn those neural pathways in place so that you can operate on “autopilot” when presented with a multi-attacker situation. Practice with ferocity, as that will be an absolute requisite in a real-world situation.
“Always imagine yourself on the battlefield under the fiercest attack; never forget this crucial element of training.” –Morihei Ueshiba
